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This month's Envision Eugene Newsletter provides updates on the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan and Urban Reserves planning. We hope you'll find this information useful and reach out if you have questions. As always, you can find more information on all of our work by visiting our website.

Thank you to everyone who attended the Pumpkin Pie and Planning community event hosted by the River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan, and all the volunteers and local businesses that helped make it a success. This River Road-Santa Clara Neighborhood Plan event marks the beginning of a transition towards the adoption phase for the neighborhood plan. It was inspiring to see so many people present and actively participating in envisioning the future of the Santa Clara and River Road neighborhoods. 

Over 200 community members took part in a discussion to flesh out and share thoughts on the draft action plan. Key highlights of the conversation include:

Between land use standards, better transportation, and the future of housing in Santa Clara and River Road, many people shared they were able to gain a better understanding of the draft action items and expressed their support or concerns. The Community Advisory Committee members will incorporate input received at the meeting as well as through an online survey into their final edits of the draft action plan. If you were unable to attend the meeting you are still encouraged to review the materials on the project website and take the action plan survey.

For more information visit www.RiverRoad-SantaClaraPlan.org or contact project manager Terri Harding, 541-682-5635 or THarding@eugene-or.gov. 

The Urban Reserves suitability analysis has been moving forward and there are several exciting updates to share! After identifying all the developable land in our study area (i.e. all the land where future homes and jobs could go), we embarked on a suitability analysis to determine which of that land makes sense for future urbanization.

Study Area Expansion

As staff went through the suitability analysis and removed land from consideration, it became clear that there was not enough ‘suitable’ land within the study area for a 30-year Urban Reserve. At the advice of our technical advisory committee, service providers, and the project management team, the study area was expanded farther west of Eugene near Fisher Road. About 900 acres of land have been added to the study area and are included in the suitability analysis. The next step is outreach to property owners in this newly-added area to let them know that that their land is being studied and make sure they have a chance to provide input. The study area interactive web map has been updated  to include this new land, and more information on the study area expansion is available on the project webpage.

Suitability Analysis Results

We have preliminary results from our suitability analysis to share! The criteria for this suitability analysis are based on state law and includes weighing the environmental, economic, energy and social consequences of potential urbanization. This is an iterative process and our results may change as we refine the analysis. Land that is moving forward for further consideration will not necessarily become Urban Reserves. The amount of ‘suitable’ land in the study area is slightly more than the amount of land needed for a 30-year Urban Reserve option, so land will continue to be removed from consideration as the analysis progresses. An overview of the suitability analysis and a map of the preliminary results are available on the project webpage. 

Next Steps

Project staff will meet with decision-makers this winter to update them on the project and get their direction. Staff will also hold a series of area-specific meetings for study area residents to come learn how Urban Reserves may impact their neighborhood specifically. 

For more information, visit our project page at  www.eugene-or.gov/UrbanReserves or contact project manager Rebecca Gershow at RGershow@eugene-or.gov. 

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